Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts

18th Century Dog Houses

Metropolitan Museum's Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts. features a small dog house in the far corner. this is a beautiful 18th century room
The Metropolitan Museum's Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts. Photo: Carlton Hobbs LLC
The 18th century saw some lucky pups! Here are gorgeous examples of 18th century dog houses in incredible condition for their age (and use!)  This first dog house was likely a cozy place to sleep for one of Marie Antoinette's dogs!

Pups of the Past: Dogs at Versailles

Nooo puppy, no! Marie Antoinette (2006), film. Sofia Coppola.
The royal family during the reign of Louis XV were very fond of dogs. At anytime you could find dogs running through the halls of Versailles, cute yes, but they also contributed to the continual foul smells that plagued the palace.


The Diligent Mother

Jean-Siméon Chardin,  The Diligent Mother. 1740, painting.  Musée du Louvre.
The dilligent mother at work.  What is your favorite part of this painting? I bet most people will say the dog (an 18th century dog of course!) but check out her equipment!


Pups of the Past: Louis XV

Attributed to Pierre Gobert, Portrait of Louis XV with Two Dogs. Early 18th century, oil on canvas. Private Collection.

Young Louis XV heads outside with two puppies!


Pups of the past: Marie Antoinette's dogs




I have been doing a little bit of reading on some historical pups of money. I have never had a dog of my own, but I see the appeal! So lets start off with Mops.


Fashionable Lady: Rules and Guidelines

Women of fashion had very strict rules to stick with, if they wanted to keep their beloved title. Their life was ruled by what constituted a fashionable lady, and it was not all shopping for lace.
Well actually it was a lot of shopping for lace!

First things first, to be fashionable you needed to be up on the latest trends. Yes basic information right? But even people who think they are tres fashionable can fall behind on trends and that is just embarrassing. Remember Kenley and how embarrassing it was for her not being in on what's hot?

If if you were caught in last weeks and god forbid last month's style you would be laughed at! It was fun to see who fell behind in style and even more exciting when you obtained the new style first. So step one, be on top of your game and at the boutique first.

Marie Antoinette was always first to sport the latest in France, likewise Georgiana would pioneer new styles in England. The two even sent gifts to each other of serious fashion breakthroughs when discovered. A fashionable lady would look to Antoinette and Georgiana for a guide as to what to wear.

Once you managed to see what the queen was wearing sadly you could not run down to the shops and pick it up. Sometimes a latest style would not be sold to anyone (even the highest ladies of rank) for up to a week after it was premiered.

What else do you have to do to be Fashionable? This may seem silly now, but go get a small dog! All the fashionable ladies carried a small dog around with them. Sometimes in the rush of mornings a lady might be whisked off in her carriage while still in a daze, and if she forgot her dog, a second carriage would be sent to fetch him so she would have the puppy for the days events.

Requirements for a fashionable dog? Small, always white and at least, mostly white and usually has curly hair.

Last but not least, fashionable ladies were known as Lamps. Etiquette demanded that they did not rise before 11am. Later was not unusual. It made sense, considering the late night parties and gambling.

Breakfast? One cup of chocolate in bed!

Quotables: Duchesse de Choiseul




“It is well to love even a dog when you have the opportunity, for fear you should find nothing else worth loving”
DUCHESSE DE CHOISEUL